[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 89 (Friday, May 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 25521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12272]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[MT-060-08-1610-00, 1617P]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Land Disposal Plan Amendment for 
the Judith-Valley-Phillips and West HiLine Resource Management Plans

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) will amend the Judith-Valley-Phillips and West HiLine Resource 
Management Plans (RMPs). The Bureau of Land Management is amending the 
RMPs to allow the disposal of small isolated tracts which were not 
specifically identified and listed in the RMPs. The public land being 
considered is located in Blaine, Chouteau, Fergus, Glacier, Hill, 
Judith Basin, Liberty, Petroleum, Phillips, Toole, and Valley Counties, 
Montana. An environmental assessment will be prepared by the Lewistown 
District Office to analyze the impacts of this proposal and any 
alternatives.

DATES: Comments and recommendations on this notice to amend the Judith-
Valley-Phillips and West HiLine RMPs should be received on or before 
June 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to David L. 
Mari, District Manager, Lewistown District Office, P.O. Box 1160, 
Lewistown, MT 59457-1160.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Majerus, 406-538-7461.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The West HiLine (1988) and Judith-Valley-
Phillips (1994) Resource Management Plans (RMP) identified specific 
parcels of public land for disposal. Under these RMPs, a plan amendment 
is required for any land exchange, or sale, that involves public land 
not specifically identified for disposal and listed in the RMPs no 
matter how small and insignificant the sale or exchange. Over the past 
seven years this has required six plan amendments to complete eight 
minor land sales exchanges which ranged in size from 20 to 382 acres. 
The purpose of each amendment was to dispose of small isolated tracts 
that were not identified in the RMPs, but upon closer examination did 
meet disposal criteria. Completing this plan amendment would allow the 
BLM the option, and flexibility, to identify additional disposal tracts 
in the future, provided they meet the disposal criteria and the 
management objectives in the RMPs. Under the plan amendment, additional 
disposal tracts would not be identified for major land exchanges that 
do not meet RMP objectives.

(Authority: Sec. 202, Pub. L. 94-579, 90 Stat. 2747 (43 U.S.C. 
1712))

    Dated: April 29, 1998.
M. James Feist,
Acting District Manager.
[FR Doc. 98-12272 Filed 5-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-DN-P